Township proximity?

Township proximity?

Hello - I'm researching some ancestors, Elizabeth (Fryer) Terrill, and Almon D. Fryer in the 1850 US census for Marquette County. Elizabeth was living in "Indian Lands", and Almon was living in Albany. Any idea of the proximity of these townships to each other? I can't find either in a map.

Re: Township proximity?

That is not an easy question to answer. In 1850 Marquette County included all of present day Green Lake County. Albany Township became Hardin Township @1852 and later renamed Manchester Township now located in Green Lake County. District 10, Indian Lands Marquette County was (I believe) most of present day Marquette County with the (possible) exception of Buffalo Township. Hope this helps.

Re: Township proximity?

I'm not exactly sure where "Indian Lands" is, but here are a couple of references that may help you.

The 1878 Illustrated Historical Atlas of Wisconsin wrote about "Indian Lands" in Marquette County. It said the lands upon the "south side of [Buffalo] lake were in market several years earlier than on the north, yet Jason Daniels and "Uncle" Jesse Dart settled in Montello in 1849, upon what was known as the 'Indian lands.' "

I suspect "Indian Lands" may include quite a large area in the 1850 census. In 1920, my great-aunt wrote that "much of Marquette County and some of the Green Lake County have long been known as 'Indian Lands' because they were the last places in Wisconsin which the Indians inhabited." In 1850 Green Lake County was still part of Marquette County.

Re: Township proximity?

Also in Marquette county was part of what is now Waushara County. This is a description of the area known as the Indian Lands in Green Lake, Marquette and Waushara Counties:

Source: Portrait and Biographical Album of Green Lake, Marquette and Waushara Counties, Wisconsin. Acme Publishing Co., Chicago, 1890, P203 October 18, 1848, the Government obtained title to the Menomonees' land within the State of Wisconsin, being the tract lying north and west of the Fox River between the Wolf and Wisconsin Rivers. It included nearly all of Waushara County, much of Marquette and some of Green lake County. This area has long been known as the "Indian Lands."

I do not know if the county has land ownership records from that far back - that they could look up by name. Census listings were done in order by location. So someone who knows the area and some of the past history may be able to narrow the location down by the names listed near the ones you are interested in. You could also search for the names in cemetery listings for those areas.